CW’s ‘The Flash’ Trailer: What Speedy Secrets Are Revealed in the First Footage?

Yesterday saw The CW speeding out its first full trailer for ‘The Flash,’ having spun off Grant Gustin‘s Barry Allen from ‘Arrow‘ into his own DC series for the fall. The impressive five-minute trailer revealed plenty of comic goodness and lighting-quick heroics, but moved so fast that we needed to slow that sucker down! So, what speedy secrets lie hidden in the world of The CW’s ‘The Flash’?

Zoom In

The CW

Going back to a bit of what Barry told us in his initial appearances, here we see the young Flash’s childhood, both getting bullied at school, and a mysterious incident wherein Barry’s mother was apparently killed by a man-shaped tornado, before he himself ended up 20 blocks away. This will come as no surprise to comic-book readers (potential spoilers for TV newbies!), but if you slow down the yellow blur, you can vaguely make out the shape of a man, almost assuredly that of Professor Zoom, or “Reverse Flash,’ in the comics a time-traveler named Eobard Thawne who kills Barry’s mother out of his obsession with the boy. We’ll come back to this idea a bit later on, but how it plays out in ‘Arrow’’s (slightly) more grounded universe is anyone’s guess.

John Wesley Shipp

The CW

Producers were cagey about revealing the role played by ‘Dawson’s Creek’ alum John Wesley Shipp, who himself played the title role of ‘The Flash’ in CBS’ early 90’s attempt at the character. Speculation ran the gamut from Jay Garrick to any other associated ‘Flash’ characters, but the family photos and his presence here seem more or less to confirm Shipp’s role as Barry’s father. We know that Barry’s dad was himself incarcerated for his wife’s death, though we imagine we’ll be seeing the character now and again.

The CW

Vibin’ on Killer Frost

The CW

Having already made their debut on ‘Arrow’s “The Man Under the Hood,” here we’re reintroduced to S.T.A.R. Labs engineer Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker), a highly intelligent bioengineering expert who lost her fiancé during the explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs. Both are known in the DC universe as the alter-egos of sound-wave hero Vibe and the villainous Killer Frost, but for now, they seem to be ordinary folk on Flash’s team, exploring the “meta-human” emergence.

Flashes of Spidey

The CW

Whereas ‘Arrow’ continually draws inspiration from Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy take on Batman, ‘The Flash’ seems to borrow more than a few ideas from Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man,’ here in one of Barry’s first experiences of the world in slow-motion, complete with a tray of falling food. Similarly, we also see Barry beginning to discover and experiment with his abilities in a (cough, Vancouver) alleyway, much as how Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker first discovered his ability to stick to walls. Overall, ‘Flash’ seems to have a great deal in common with ‘Spider-Man’ regardless, as someone who enjoys his powers and superheroism, but still has a few tragic origins.

The CW

A Green Lantern Spinoff Next?

The CW

We’ve seen a number of fingers pointed toward the presence of Ferris Air as a sign that ‘The Flash’ might introduce a few Green Lantern characters here and there, which remains a possibility. That said, people forget that “Ferris Air” also featured into the first season of ‘Arrow’ in the form of a plane that Edward Fyers attempted to shoot down over Lian Yu, but thus far neither Hal Jordan nor Carol Ferris have been sighted yet.

Meta Humans and Weather Wizards

The CW

Tom Cavanagh’s character Harrison Wells makes mention of the fact that the particle accelerator explosion released untold amounts of theoretical energies into Starling City through a dimensional breach, in the process creating Barry Allen’s powers, but also creating a number of other “meta-humans,” a frequent term from the comics. Some have theorized that these dark and antimatter energies might be some iteration of the Flash’s “Speed Force,” but for now we only know of its effect on Clyde Mardon, who becomes DC’s Weather Wizard.

The CW

Traditionally, the DC Clyde Mardon was a scientist who used a wand of his own design to control weather patterns, until Clyde perished under mysterious circumstances, and his brother Mark took the wand for his own purposes. Here, Clyde seems to have been condensed into a meta-human.

Flashy New Threads

The CW

In addition to the intentionally-goofy runner’s out fit Barry wears for the team to help test his abilities, Cisco shows off a pre-Flash running suit that proves heat and friction-resistant enough for Barry’s use during super-speed. Say what you will about the costume design, but it’s of interest to note the real-world physics in consideration, as an earlier shot sees Barry’s clothing catching fire during a run. We also see that the suit makes use of a breathing apparatus and goggles, but it’s tough to say if this has any correlation to Barry’s difficulty breathing and seeing at super-speed, or rather something specifically to withstand the Weather Wizard.

Arrow Points the Way

The CW

Somewhat unsurprisingly, we’ve learned that Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen will put in a pilot appearance, as Barry returns to Starling City for a hero pep talk from the hooded vigilante. You’ll also note Felicity’s shoulder briefly appearing in the trailer, though through the re-use of footage from “The Scientist.” In any case, we’d expect more than a few crossovers here and there, as teased in the initial ‘Flash’ promo before the full trailer.

Zoom In on Eddie Thawne

The CW

Though he only appears in a solitary shot in the trailer, saying “You’re not faster than a bullet,” here we see recent Central City Police transfer Detective Eddie Thawne (‘The Vampire Diaries‘ Rick Cosnett), whose past is shrouded in mystery and supposedly harbors a dark secret, and who has a habit of taking credit for Barry’s work (shades of Spider-Man’s Eddie Brock). Hmm, might he have something to do with the “Eobard Thawne” Flash lore tells us to be the identity of Professor Zoom, and Barry’s mother’s killer? Hmm…

Well, what do you think? Does The CW’s ‘The Flash’ look like it’ll offer an exciting new take on the scarlet speedster mythology we know and love? What else caught your eye from the first full trailer? Stay tuned for the latest, and tell us what you want to see from ‘Arrow’ spinoff ‘The Flash’ when it premieres this fall!

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